Lord Northbourne: My Lords, I opposed the idea of a custodial sentence for offences of careless driving earlier in the Bill and I continue to oppose it. I do so with trepidation after the very learned words of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Lyell, who has really said everything there is to say on this subject, and the powerful speech from my noble friend Lord Monson.
	Briefly, there are two strands. One is legal. If we go down that road, the consequences become dominant, rather than culpability, which overturns, everything that happens in the courts. To the list of honour expounded by the noble and learned Lord, Lord Lyell, I add the Magistrates' Association, which is also unhappy with the provision. There is a second strand: the practicality. Throughout the passage of the Bill, noble Lords have been saying how difficult it is to get a conviction before a jury on dangerous driving grounds. It is indeed difficult. How much more difficult will it be to get convictions on careless driving, where the incident is entirely accidental, although there will be some fault, such as tiredness? No jury will convict under those circumstances, because the jurors will all be thinking, "There, but for the grace of God, go I". Even on those practical grounds, it is a mistake. Also, my noble friend Lord Monson touched briefly on the fact that it will unduly raise the hopes of relatives and others affected that they will get what they regard as justice—people being put in the slammer for two or three years. In fact, that may not come to pass and great will be the anger when the defendant is acquitted.
	For all those reasons, and for the much more powerful reasons that have already been advanced this afternoon, I urge noble Lords to support the amendment.